Google Maps now helps visually impaired people cross the street and stay on course

Google Maps can now help visually impaired people get to their walking destinations more easily — by continually reminding them that they’re on the right path, warning them when there’s a busy crosswalk ahead, telling them how far away their next turn is using voice navigation, and automatically pointing them back in the right direction if they have to stop.

Here’s a cool video demonstrating the improved guidance in action:

Google’s blog post says the improved guidance is now available on iOS and Android, but only in English in the US and in Japanese in Japan, at the moment. If you want to use it, you can turn it on in Google Maps’ settings menu. The company says support for more languages and countries is “on the way.”